The Tea Party's Corporate Sponsor: Big Telecom

September 24, 2010 2:38 pm ET —
Fae Jencks

The Tea Party prides itself on its alleged "main street" members,
grassroots activists, and "outsider" candidates who loathe government intrusion
in their lives. The movement, however, has taken up an unlikely cause which
appears diametrically opposed to the Tea Party's founding principles. In their
opposition to "net neutrality," Tea Party activists claim that they stand against
what they claim is government overreach that could lead to government control
of the internet.

Net neutrality is a policy that the Tea Party would presumably embrace. After all, the legislation would prevent companies
like Verizon and AT&T from creating a tiered access system that would make
it harder to visit smaller, "amateur-run" sites like those used to organize Tea
Party gatherings.

However, as it turns out, opposing the policy is a very
profitable position for the Tea Party, garnering their candidates hundreds of
thousands of dollars in donations from telecommunications companies like
AT&T and Verizon. According to The
Daily Beast, members of the House Tea Party Caucus have received
$350,000 from AT&T's PAC alone. Additionally, although Verizon has shied
away from public support of the Tea Party after earning criticism for sponsoring a
"Friends of America" rally in West
Virginia, Verizon's PAC has donated at least
$43,500 to members of the Tea Party Caucus.

According to The Daily Beast, Brian Dietz, a spokesman
for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, claimed he was "unaware
of any specific outreach to Tea Party organizations," but stated that he
believed that "there's a natural alignment [between the NCTA and the Tea Party]
on this issue." Financial disclosure records show that this is clearly the case.
Recently, the NCTA has donated
$58,500 to members of the House Tea Party Caucus.

While opposition to net neutrality seems contrary to the
movement's grassroots persona, it isn't entirely shocking considering the
leadership of some of the Tea Party's biggest organizations. FreedomWorks chairman
Dick Armey is a former lobbyist whose clientele included
none other than Verizon Communications. In addition, National Journal reported in 2005 (accessed via Nexis) that both
Verizon and SBC (now AT&T) donated thousands to Armey's PAC.
So when FreedomWorks announced its opposition
to net neutrality, the news came as little surprise.

Because the Tea Party movement prides itself on promoting
freedom and liberty, its widespread opposition to net neutrality seems
contradictory. But while opposing the measure may not fit in with the
movement's core principles, it sure seems to help its fundraising efforts.